432: Chapter 418 I'll handle it

To a mage, what is "money"?

Gold coins?

potions?

No, neither. magic crystal stones are the real hard currency.

So, the so-called "Zhang Mu is willing to spend money" naturally meant he was not at all stingy with magic crystal stones.

Standing above the control hub, he took out several rare-quality magic crystal stones that would cause countless Professionals on the Saul Continent to fight over them and began pouring mana into the Magic Array.

After lasting an entire night, the Magic Array was finally fully charged.

Zhang Mu stuffed the now-lusterless magic crystal stones back into his Storage Pouch. Sensing that the Magic Array was ready to be activated at any moment and confirming there were no omissions, he flew up into the air.

...

The dawn drove back the curtain of night that had shrouded New Moon City.

It was another bright morning. People living in the city woke up, washed, and walked out of their homes to welcome a new day.

Once on the main streets, they were surprised to find that today seemed a bit different from usual. There were more... people on the streets who shouldn't be there.

Journalists.

The general public was no stranger to the media industry and those who worked in it; ask anyone, and they could talk about it with great familiarity.

Journalists, after all, did nothing more than interview celebrities, politicians, artists, and other public figures, or go to war-torn areas to film and reveal the reality of the battlefield to the public.

Those with deeper knowledge could even name the sub-specialties—sports reporters, entertainment reporters, paparazzi.

People also frequently saw journalists active everywhere through their televisions.

However, when it came to actually seeing a journalist with their own eyes, or personally interacting and talking with one, most people lacked that experience.

At the very least, journalists weren't usually all over the streets.

Passersby who were almost late for work had no time to look closely; they could only steal a few glances at the journalists gathered in front of roadside shops as they passed, slightly satisfying their curiosity.

Those who still had time before clocking in, or were on vacation, had the leisure to stop and observe, discussing the reason with friends.

Was something big about to happen in New Moon City?

Someone, unable to suppress the itch of curiosity in their heart, stepped forward to strike up a conversation.

The journalists didn't hide anything; it wasn't a secret event anyway, and they readily revealed the answer they wanted.

Mr. Gao was very likely to appear in New Moon City today.

"Mr. Gao? Is it the Mr. Gao I'm thinking of?"

"Besides that gentleman, who else could make the journalists of the entire New Moon City mobilize, and even have reporters from neighboring cities rush over overnight?"

The confusion was resolved, but the passerby was not satisfied and continued to ask.

"What is Mr. Gao doing here?"

Several journalists who seemed to be from the same company looked at each other with strange expressions, as if they had encountered something incredible. Their gazes were like seeing an animal declared extinct suddenly appearing on the street.

The passerby didn't quite understand the root of their behavior but guessed it had something to do with himself.

Wanting to escape the awkward atmosphere immediately but unable to let go of the answer, he stuffed his hands awkwardly into his pockets and waited silently.

After a long while, one journalist finally spoke: "Don't you know about the Magic School?"

"Of course I know. The Magic School is right on the outskirts of New Moon. I even went to the ribbon-cutting ceremony when construction started. Since then, I haven't missed a single piece of news about the Magic School, including the recruitment activities that started ten days ago."

"If that's the case, how did you miss the news that Mr. Gao would personally come to New Moon City today to select new students?"

"Uh, was there such a news report?"

"I suggest you check your Mobile Phone." After saying that, the journalists left together to find the location where Mr. Gao was most likely to appear.

The passerby blankly pulled his Mobile Phone from his jacket pocket, muttering in his heart about how he could have missed such explosive news while opening the official website specifically established for the supernatural.

The homepage prominently displayed the headline: "Mr. Gao Visits New Moon Personally to Scout New Students for the School."

He looked at the publication time—it was three hours ago—and suddenly understood.

The journalists must have learned the news early through special channels; otherwise, reporters from other cities wouldn't have rushed to New Moon the night before.

"What a bunch of idiots. Three hours ago it was still the middle of the night and I was sleeping soundly, how could I have seen the news!"

He had a fiery temper. Normally, he would have chased after them to argue, but now he couldn't be bothered because there was something more important.

No wonder those journalists were walking around as if looking for something; they were trying to predict where Mr. Gao would appear.

Doesn't that mean if I'm lucky enough to guess right, I could meet Mr. Gao in person?!

Everyone has fantasized about being exceptionally talented, believing their current mediocrity is just a case of a pearl being covered in dust due to the lack of a proper stage.

This psychological state is particularly prominent in young men in their early twenties.

Coincidentally, this passerby was twenty-one years old.

He got excited—maybe he possessed amazing magical talent!

In the next second, this guy's mind had already imagined a series of power-fantasy plotlines.

When Mr. Gao was preparing to lead the new students to the Magic School, the onlookers would kneel and beg for a chance to take the exam. He would stand tall and composed among the crowd, thus revealing himself.

Mr. Gao would cast his gaze upon his extraordinary self, instantly detecting the stunning talent hidden within his body, and then, amidst everyone's envy and lamentation, grant him a special admission!

Next would be defeating powerful opponents in the school's magic competition, marrying a fair-skinned...

"Quick!" He opened his eyes, returning from the world of fantasy to reality, and urged his friends standing nearby.

"Huh?" His friends were wondering what he was still doing there when the journalists had already walked far away. They were startled by his sudden shout.

"Go find Mr. Gao, otherwise my first place in the competition will be gone!"

"Wh-what first place?" his friends asked, completely bewildered. However, he had already run far ahead, so they had no choice but to chase after him.

During the time he spent playing out the plot in his head, the news had already spread, and many people had the same idea as him.

This could be seen from the pedestrians who suddenly started running on the streets.

Besides them, there were office workers who reached their company doors, saw the news on their phones, and immediately turned around to rush back into the street, as well as housewives who ran out of their homes still wearing aprons and clutching kitchen knives.

The residents of New Moon City went wild.

Candidates staying in apartments or hotels throughout the city were woken by the noise. They pulled back their balcony curtains and were stunned to see the scene below, which looked like a zombie outbreak.

Only one night had passed; what had happened?

Did the Umbrella Corporation spread a virus? Did the Russians cross the ocean to attack? Or did terrorists hijack a plane, planning to recreate the tragedy from over a decade ago?

But... this was near the Magic Academy, the city Mr. Gao was descending upon today. What kind of madman would dare to provoke at this time?

Clearly, with no one around to help solve the mystery and not daring to go down and ask, they could only scratch their heads while leaning over their windowsills.

Meanwhile, Neo, who was at the school directing workers to unload supplies, received a report from his assistant about the cause of the chaos. He immediately called the Director of the media company whose journalist had leaked the news and gave him a harsh scolding.

The Directors felt very aggrieved.

Even if their journalists hadn't talked too much, there was an official announcement on the website. Once people woke up at dawn, it would have spread quickly anyway.

After Neo finished scolding and hung up, he realized this fact himself and couldn't help but feel some regret. He had still underestimated the public's fanaticism for the supernatural.

The official website had stated a month ago that the Magic School only recruited students in the 9-18 age range.

Neo figured that people outside that range should understand they had absolutely no chance of being admitted, so releasing the news early shouldn't have caused a riot.

Or rather, the original intention of the announcement itself was to prepare the public mentally for Mr. Gao's visit to New Moon, to avoid panic among those unaware of the situation.

Who would have thought that in the end, it not only failed to achieve its goal but triggered the exact opposite effect.

Well, at its root, it was probably because Neo, who had received an aristocratic education since childhood, couldn't understand why people would fantasize about unrealistic dreams.

In his view, that wasn't called a dream; it should be called "daydreaming."

Neo was annoyed by his own oversight, but the out-of-control citizens of New Moon City didn't know that.

They shuttled and ran through streets and alleys, searching for places where they believed Mr. Gao would land.

Those who still had some logic left mostly ran to high places, such as the rooftops of buildings or wide plazas. As for those completely controlled by emotion, they just ran around blindly.

All residents leaving their buildings to gather on the streets caused the city's carrying capacity to reach its limit.

Cars and other vehicles were blocked in the middle of the road by the flow of people. Those seen as being in the way were collectively tossed to the roadside. The crowd pushed and shoved, and public facilities on the road were inevitably damaged.

Sturdier fixtures like fire hydrants were mostly fine, but lamp posts, flower beds, park lawns, and trash cans—things that required care—suffered.

An old lady watched helplessly as a crowd roared across her favorite patch of grass. The green grass was trampled, and as more soles passed over it, the soil beneath was even exposed.

The chaotic situation lasted for an entire morning. With Mr. Gao nowhere to be seen, the frenzied crowd finally began to cool down slightly.

At this time, a spark of inspiration flashed through the minds of certain ill-intentioned people.

Despite how hard they were searching, they actually knew very well that the possibility of Mr. Gao granting them special admission was minuscule.

Besides, Mr. Gao could fly. Their predicted range wasn't just the ground but also the sky. In such a vast city, correctly guessing a single person-sized space was less realistic than hoping to win the lottery with the highest multiplier.

Instead of exhausting themselves fighting for a "special admission" with a near-zero probability, it was better to consider the benefits within easy reach—the seemingly unattended shops.

Quite a few people had similar thoughts.

They observed their surroundings for a while and, seeing that the roadside shops were indeed empty with their doors wide open, they took action.

Unsurprisingly, "looting" broke out.

By the time Shop Owners and residents noticed, countless shops had already been ransacked. High-end communities were also invaded by large groups of thugs with their faces wrapped in scarves, who smashed open doors and stole everything of value.

They gathered in groups. The outnumbered residents and Shop Owners were powerless to resist and could only call the official emergency lines.

The authorities had no intention of shirking their duties, but the police officers had all run off to find Mr. Gao. Because the event was so sudden, they hadn't even brought their communication devices and couldn't be centrally dispatched or commanded.

Neo received the report half an hour later and was fuming.

It was precisely because he feared looting would break out that he had announced Mr. Gao's arrival in advance, yet things had gone against his wishes.

He ordered the deployment of the army to enter the city and suppress the chaos, but the city was currently a mess. People were packed into the streets, so the Soldiers couldn't get in at all, let alone reach the locations of the thugs quickly.

Neo felt a headache coming on and struggled to think of a solution.

Just as he was at a loss, Mr. Gao's voice reached his ears.

"I'll handle it."

...

In New Moon City, the violence continued.

Likely because the criminals found no one to stop them and the official forces were nowhere to be seen, the onlookers also joined in, and the looting spread accordingly.

As the numbers grew, so did the demand for places to plunder. Many criminals broke into villas only to find them already in a mess, clearly looted by others first, so they could only turn their greedy eyes toward ordinary neighborhoods and high-end hotels.

Most of the people who came to New Moon to apply for the Magic School were staying in these places.

In the lobby of a certain hotel, a group of masked thugs smashed open the doors and rushed in.

The hotel had its own security force, but in the face of the overwhelming number of thugs, there was very little they could do—they resisted for a few seconds before being knocked over by the crowd and instantly submerged under countless feet.

The obstacles cleared, the distinguished guests staying in the high-end hotel became lambs to the slaughter, at the mercy of the looters.

The thugs went up to the second floor via the fire escape, raising hammers to smash at room doors. Faint screams could be heard coming from behind the doors.

"Bang—" The door was smashed open. The leader looked at the luxuriously decorated room and was about to step in with excitement.

"Hey, wait."

"What is it?" the leader turned back and asked in confusion.

"Look at that." He pointed to the desk next to the window.

The leader's gaze passed over a family of three huddled together in fear and landed on a numeric ID tag lying on the desk.

It was made of iron. Even from over ten meters away, one could see the exquisite craftsmanship. The upward-facing side was pitch black, with the white Arabic numerals "508" embossed in the center.

"Is there a problem?" The leader didn't see anything special about the number tag or any hidden mystery, so he asked blankly.

His companion's mouth twitched, a bit speechless that his boss knew nothing about the Magic School that had been causing such a stir lately.

"I've seen the news. This number tag was issued by the Magic School."

The father of the family of three cowering in the corner heard their conversation and seized it like a lifeline. He hurriedly ran to the desk, grabbed the number tag, and returned to his family. With one hand protecting his wife and daughter behind him, he raised the other, showing the number tag to the men outside the door.

"My daughter is a candidate for the Magic School. You can't hurt us, or Mr. Gao will be furious!"

Mr. Gao...

The owner of the name was not present, yet the deterrent was still immense. The thugs looked at each other, hesitating to step into the room, but they were unwilling to just leave like that.

Seeing this, the father shielded his family and retreated to the corner of the living room: "You can take whatever you want, just don't come near us."

The leader's eyes lit up: "Rest assured, I won't do anything to you."

After saying that, he was the first to cross the threshold, waving his hand behind him to signal his underlings to hurry up and get to work.

However, as soon as the underlings stepped into the living room, they froze in place.

"Light."